Timothy C. May wrote:
(My traffic from the Cypherpunks list comes in bursts interspersed by long gaps, so I don't know if this has been reported. It seems significant to me.) A few excerpts: H-P ( Hewlett-Packard Co ) says RSA Data ( Security Dynamics Technologies Inc ) in codes deal PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov 15 (Reuter) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said Security Dynamics Technologies Inc's RSA Data Security Inc electronic encryption company is involved in its planned announcement Monday of new advance in encryption technology. Hewlett-Packard said technology the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Lewis Platt is due to detail at the National Press Club on Monday aims to resolve this roadblock in the use of electronic commerce over the Internet. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^[emphasis added by Tim] Hewlett-Packard officials declined to give precise details, but said the technology has already received backing from the U.S. government and other ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ governments which it did not name, as well as major industry players. Senior executives of Microsoft Corp and Intel Corp are among those scheduled to make presentations on Monday, Hewlett-Packard said, but it declined to identify other companies whose technologies will be involved. It sounds ominous to me. Another backroom deal, probably for some form of key recovery strategy, aka GAK.
In my dealings with Platt's office, I discovered an interesting thing. His staffers are retired people, who have no mailboxes at HP, and who you reach only through a single individual, kinda like the concept of compartmentalization used in military operations. And believe me, that isn't the only peculiar thing going on there. Let's just say that HP is a shrewd survivor in a sea of nasty predators.